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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Recipe for Asparagus and Tomato Frittata with Havarti and Dill

I mentioned how the the abundance of low-priced asparagus in the market had inspired me to make Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Ham, and it was that same bargain asparagus that inspired this frittata with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, Havarti cheese, and dill. Even though cherry tomatoes aren't a spring food, the asparagus and dill flavors in this made me think of spring, and this is another dish that I think would be great for an Easter brunch or lunch if you're cooking for a small group. It would also make a great weekend breakfast any time you have a little bit of leftover asparagus and some cherry tomatoes. If you've never made a frittata, it's basically an omelet that's not flipped, and often frittatas are browned a little under the broiler once the eggs are set. This was my first time using the broiler on my new stove, and the broiler turned out to be super-powerful compared to the old stove, but luckily I managed to rescue the frittata barely in time, even if it did get a tiny bit well-done on top!

Trim the woody ends of the asparagus and cut it into small pieces.

Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan, then add asparagus and saute 3-4 minutes. (The asparagus will continue to cook when the eggs are added, so it should be barely starting to cook.

Add the tomatoes and dill to the asparagus and saute 1-2 minutes more. Bad blogger, I forgot to take a photo of the tomatoes in the pan at this point. Of course I don't have fresh dill from the garden this early in the year, but I used this freeze-dried dill which was really good in this.

Havarti cheese is definitely a bit high in fat for the South Beach Diet, but I had some left over that a guest had brought to my house. Use a lower-fat cheese if you prefer. Cut the cheese into small cubes while the veggies are cooking.

Pour the beaten egg over the asparagus/tomato mixture, then sprinkle the cheese over. (Start to preheat the broiler at this point.)

Cover the frittata and cook on low about 8-10 minutes, or until the eggs are set and the cheese looks all melted like this.

Then put the frittata under the broiler and brown 3-4 minutes (or maybe only 2-3 minutes if you have a new stove with a high-powered broiler!) Serve hot, with green onions for garnish if desired.

Asparagus and Tomato Frittata with Havarti and Dill
(Makes 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from low-priced asparagus on sale at the market.)

While asparagus cooks, dice the cherry tomatoes into halves (or fourths if they're large) and dice the cheese into small pieces. After asparagus has cooked for 3-4 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes and dill and saute for 1-2 minutes more.

Break eggs into a bowl and beat with Spike Seasoning and Vege-Sal (or salt and fresh ground black pepper.) When tomatoes have cooked for 2 minutes, pour eggs over, then sprinkle cheese over the top. Start to preheat the broiler. (There will be some pieces of asparagus and tomatoes poking up at this point, but the frittata will puff up more as it cooks.)

Cover pan and cook on low heat about 7-8 minutes, or until eggs are set and the cheese is completely melted on the top. Put frittata under the broiler for a few minutes, checking carefully to see when it's starting to get brown. When the top is browned to your liking, cut frittata into four wedges, garnish with sliced green onions, and serve hot.

I've already confessed that Havarti cheese is a little high in fat for the South Beach Diet, although the four ounces of Havarti I used in this recipe would make it 9 grams of fat per serving, which I don't think is too terrible. Although everything here is a low-glycemic ingredient, substituting a lower-fat cheese would make this perfect for any phase of the diet.

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23 comments:

I love frittatas! I do have to change my opinion on asparagus though. It's a dislike from childhood and I haven't had asparagus much as an adult so I have NEVER cooked it. I need to get over it because I LOVE all other veggies, they are so healthy and inexpensive this time of year. Thanks for the idea!

Frittata looks sumptuous. This is my second day of Phase 1 and am looking for ideas for a healthy meal that will suite SBD. After visiting your blog I have some great ideas. I am gonna make frittata for my weekend breakfast. Thanks for sharing.

I'm definitely going to make the frattata for Easter lunch/brunch but i'm planning on adding lobster (I know i'll need to saute it in butter with some garlic for flavor) to it, there's NO way my clan would eat the asparagus (though I'M craving it as I type)or the scallions (another of my favs). My question is this: is there a pan other then the 'frattata pan' that can be used? I don't have one and I certainly don't want to buy one unless this meal is a hit. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions and comments and of course the recipe itself!!

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